Lift chairs are now well known in the art. These lift chairs extend beyond chairs to all types of seating furniture, including sofas, chairs and sectionals. A lift chair is designed to assist a user both in sitting down in a chair and in getting up from a chair. A wide variety of lift chairs now exist in the marketplace. All of these lift chairs achieve the basic function of raising some portion of the chair to assist the user. Some chairs raise just the arms, while others raise the seat, back and arms together in one unit. People need and use lift chairs for a variety of reasons, most of which relate to the health and strength of the user.
While lift chairs currently exist, they suffer certain drawbacks. Most lift chairs utilize relatively complex lifting mechanisms. This complexity leads to increased weight, cost and repair concerns. A relatively simple lift chair mechanism is needed. Additionally, lift chair mechanisms offer limited, if any, flexibility to the manufacturers. If a lift mechanism is used, the chair manufacturer may not have the flexibility needed to configure the lift chair as desired. In some instances, it may be desirable to lift the seat and back together in one unit, maintaining the orientation of the back relative to the seat. In other instances, it may be desirable to position the back more vertically as the seat is lifted. A lift mechanism that offers manufacturers and users the flexibility to configure a lift chair for both instances is needed. Lift chairs also exist that offer a reclining back feature in addition to the lift feature. However, these mechanisms suffer from the complexity concern noted above. A lift mechanism offering a reclining back feature is needed that is simple in construction.
Thus, while lift chairs are known, there remains a need for a lift chair and lift chair mechanism that are of relatively simple construction, that offer flexibility in configuration and that can accommodate a reclining back feature, while not limiting the furniture styling.